As Seen in Vanity Fair's August 2006 Issue!
As Seen in US News & World Report's September 11 Fifth Anniversary Issue!
As Seen in Time Magazine's September 11, 2006 Issue!
As Seen in Phoenix New Times' August 9, 2007 Issue!

Monday, December 08, 2008

Sorry To Disappoint You There, Jon

Jon Gold, complaining about the recent announcement by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others that they are going to plead guilty to planning 9/11:

They were proud to be guilty and that says a lot about them," said Maureen Santora, of Long Island City, New York, whose firefighter son Christopher died responding to the World Trade Center attacks.

At a press conference after the hearing, her husband Alexander held up photos of firefighters, his eyes brimming with tears.

"I know my son is with us," he said, his voice thick. He wore a New York Fire Department cap.

The Santoras were among nine victims' relatives who watched the proceedings, the first time family members have been allowed to observe the war-crimes trials. Maureen Santora watched from the back of the courtroom, wearing black and clutching a photo of her son in uniform.

Alice Hoagland of Redwood Estates, California, whose son Mark Bingham was on United Flight 93 whose passengers fought hijackers before it crashed in rural Pennsylvania, said the defendants should not be executed and become martyrs.

"They do not deserve the glory of executions," Hoagland said. "I want these dreadful people to live out their lives in a U.S. prison .... under the control of people they profess to hate."

"I don't want them dying a martyr's death, but I want them gone," said Jay Saloman of Seaford, whose brother, Wayne Saloman, 43, was killed in the attacks. "I'm looking for some satisfaction."Monday morning, Saloman and his family watched with pride as his brother's 15-year-old son, Justin, cut the ribbon on a new playground at eafSord Manor Elementary dedicated to Wayne Saloman's memory.

It was a joyful moment for a family that has struggled with grief and anger in the wake of the attacks.